65868: A person is sick with gonorrhoea; will his prayers and fasting be accepted?

Will prayers and fasting be accepted from a person who is sick with gonorrhoea?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

In general the term marad al-sayalaan (translated here
as gonorrhoea) refers to an infected discharge from the urethra in both men
and women. This does not have any impact on one's fasting.

Secondly:

With regard to prayer, the state of purity (tahaarah) in
invalidated by everything that comes out of the front or back passages, such
as urine, stools, wind, prostatic fluid, blood, pus and other secretions.

Based on this, the pus or infected discharge that is emitted
in the case of gonorrhoea invalidates wudoo’. But if this discharge is
continuous and the sick person cannot control it, then he comes under the
same ruling as one who suffers from incontinence and cannot control his
urine, which is emitted involuntarily.

The ruling is:

If he knows that this emission comes out at certain times and
then stops for long enough for him to purify himself and pray, then he has
to wait until it stops, even if that means missing the prayer in
congregation, and he should do wudoo’ and pray at the time when the
discharge has stopped, so long as there is no fear that the time for prayer
may end.

But if the discharge is continual and does not stop, then he
has to put a piece of cloth over his private part, or something else that
will prevent the impurity from spreading and contaminating his body or
clothes, and he should do wudoo’ for each prayer after the time for it
begins. Then it will not matter if something is emitted after doing wudoo’,
even if that is during the prayer.

He may also offer whatever naafil prayers he wishes with this
wudoo’, until the time for the obligatory prayer for which he did wudoo’ is
over.

This is the answer if what the questioner means is: is prayer
and fasting valid if there is continual emission of this pus?

But if what he means is that this person committed the major
sin of zina (because most cases of gonorrhoea occur as the result of illicit
relationships), then he should note that whoever repents to Allaah, Allaah
will accept his repentance, and the one who repents from sin is like one who
has not sinned. No matter what sins a person commits, if he then repents to
Allaah and turns to Him, and regrets what he has done, then he will find
that Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):

“Say: O ‘Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against
themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of
Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most
Merciful”

[al-Zumar 39:53]

al-Tirmidhi (3540)
narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
say: “Allaah says: ‘O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the
sky, then you were to ask me for forgiveness, I would forgive them and I
would not mind.’” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

The phrase “the clouds of
the sky” is used to give an impression of great height, to indicate a huge
amount of sins.